From Stage to Studio

Movements of dance have guided Joe and Yulia Moriarty around the world.

In the end, dance brought them back to Joe’s hometown and thousands of miles away from Yulia’s birthplace of Russia.

The married couple has spent years on international tours, but they decided to settle down this past September with the opening of their own dance studio, the ML Dance Academy.

“At this point, we’ve been teaching on and off, and you can only tour for so long,” Joe says. “It’s physically demanding and mentally taxing. It’s just not real life. It delays the inevitable of having to come back to reality.”

Yulia received her choreography degree in Russia and, between the two of them, they have almost half a century worth of experience.

“We’ve danced for so long; why do anything else?” Joe says.

The two met while on tour with renowned Irish step dance show Riverdance. Joe was an Irish dance prodigy and, in 1997, he joined up with the act at age 16.

Due to his age, he wasn’t even supposed to audition for the show, but he and his dance shoes found a way to Chicago when a few of the older dancers went for auditions.

“I received a letter two weeks later in the mail with the wonderful Riverdance letterhead and it said that when a position opened up, I would be offered the spot,” he says. “My parents were excited to have me go on tour – it can be compared to going to the NFL, but for dance. I was young, but I wasn’t very wild, and my main goal and dream was to dance the lead.”

Joe managed to achieve that dream quickly, earning the lead role in October 1998.

Yulia’s road to Riverdance was a bit different. Her career path was chosen at a younger age because she was the perfect build for the part.

“In the Soviet Union, ballet teachers would travel around and find the kids who have natural talent,” she says. “There’s a lot of work involved, sure, but they look at your natural ability because you could be hurt very badly. They look at your parents, too, to make sure you’ll grow into your body well.”

One section of Riverdance features Russian folk dance, which was one of Yulia’s strengths.

“Usually, there’s a six-person dance group that comes from Russia,” she says. “There was a huge audition and it involved really physical and intense dancing. I got the callback to come audition for Riverdance and it felt like a dream. It felt impossible.”

Both dancers have incredible accolades, including a performance in front of the empress of Japan and many weeks featured on Broadway, but the most fruitful has been their opportunity to work together.

The two met on tour in 2007, but don’t remember each other too much. It wasn’t until 2008, in Japan, that they put their relationship into motion.

“Language was a barrier,” Yulia says. “I like to be direct and say what I want to say. When you’re not confident, you don’t want to talk. I eventually went to English school in Ireland and that was really fun.”

“She tried to break up with me in Japan because she didn’t speak English well, but we spoke the universal language of love,” Joe says with a laugh.

The twirling twosome overcame this struggle and married Sept. 3, 2010.

They left Riverdance in 2011 and now put their experiences into action while teaching serious students at their studio.

“It’s easier for me to teach kids in person because I’ve been through so much,” Yulia says. “It’s hard to explain the difficulty of dance. Yes, you can dance for fun, but the serious kids learn that there’s a long way ahead.”

Joe and Yulia have already seen their students reach national success and are planning shows for the spring, including a local St. Patrick’s Day event and Lancaster’s local version of Dancing with the Stars.

Settling in Pickerington seemed to make perfect sense for Joe, who was born here.

“Growing up here … I would always come back here after tours,” Joe says. “Pickerington is a great place. People think we’re just farmers, but there’s so much more.”

And relocating proved to be the right decision for Yulia.

“I like new chapters and difficulty,” she says. “I get bored really easily. I always seek a new challenge.”

ML Dance Academy, 7885 Refugee Rd., offers classes in ballet, jazz, hip-hop, lyrical, modern contemporary, acro, ballroom and Irish step dance, as well as pointe, clogging, ballet fitness, Zumba and more. More information can be found at www.themldanceacademy.com.

Stephan Reed is an editorial associate. Feedback welcome at gbishop@cityscenemediagroup.com.